Best Social Media Marketing Courses to Take Online [Free & Paid]

I love that I can learn any skill, at any time thanks to the internet. As someone who’s worked in content for nearly a decade, I know firsthand how important it is to stay ahead of social media trends — platforms evolve, algorithms shift, and what worked last year might not work today.

That’s why I’m always on the lookout for the best social media marketing courses. Not just for myself, but for anyone looking to level up their skills, land a new job, or grow a business online. Whether you’re just starting out or already managing social media for a brand, there’s always something new to learn.

With so many options out there, which social media courses are actually worth your time? I’ve done the research and rounded up the best free and paid social media courses to help you sharpen your skills and master your strategy.

Table of Contents

The State of Social Media in 2025

Before I get into some of the courses, I want to give you an overview of the major trends and changes happening in the social media industry. One thing is clear: Things are changing rapidly, and you need to stay on your toes to keep up. (Anyone who’s worked as a social media manager knows what I mean.)

I dove into HubSpot’s 2025 State of Marketing to share more about the key drivers for social media marketers (SMMs) and what areas and skill sets are going to be most valuable.

• The top priority for recruiting marketing roles in 2025 are all in social: Social Media Coordinator, Content Creator, and Social Media Strategist.

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• The era of passive, one-size-fits-all marketing is over. Successful brands in 2025 will be the ones that actively listen, adapt, and engage with their audiences in real time.
• For B2B brands, the top marketing channels resulting in ROI in 2024 were 1) website, blog, and SEO, 2) paid social media content, and 3) social media shopping tools.
• For B2C brands, the channels with the best ROI were 1) email marketing, 2) paid social media content, and 3) content marketing.
• For both B2B and B2C brands, the top performing content format on social in 2024 was short-form video.

So there’s never been a better time to start — or level up — your social media career.

And if you want to save time and get more efficient when it comes to your social media strategy, try our suite of social tools. You can publish content, monitor engagement, and analyze your performance all in one place.

Try HubSpot’s social media management software for free.

Social Media Training Courses For Beginners

I remember the first time I hit “publish” on a social media post for a client. I was a public relations student with an internship where I was basically the only member of the marketing team. Quite a welcome to the industry.

That was ten years ago, but I still remember the victorious feeling of pulling off my first social media marketing campaigns at that internship.

A lot has changed, but I’m still learning — and all social media professionals are still on this learning journey with you. That’s why I’m so excited for you to start learning today.

Many of these courses are completely free and offer an industry-recognized certification. Let’s jump into how to build an effective social media strategy with these beginner courses.

1. Social Media Certification by HubSpot

Creator: HubSpot

Platform: HubSpot Academy

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Learn how to create an inbound social media marketing strategy.

HubSpot’s social media certification course is a robust program designed to help you attract customers and partners, and build brand loyalty. Because social media is the key to inbound marketing, this course ties in the two concepts seamlessly.

I love that this course is flexible enough so that you can work on it on your time. It covers essential topics such as measuring ROI, extending reach, social media content creation, and social listening.

You might also select to take specific lessons within the HubSpot Academy course — for instance, this one on Social Media Advertising.

HubSpot also has an incredibly easy-to-use social media management tool that will help you set all of these ideas in motion.

You’ll learn:

• How to develop a social media marketing strategy to generate brand awareness for your business.
• How to use social media listening to find out what works best for your followers.
• How to extend your reach on social and leverage influencers to attract new audiences.
• How to get the most out of your social media investments.

Recommended for:

Because this course immediately jumps into social media strategy, I recommend it for new social media marketing managers who’ve recently been promoted from a junior-level role. Some prior experience in social media is recommended.

2. Social Media Specialization by Northwestern University

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Creator: Northwestern University

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Learn everything you need to get started in social media marketing.

Coursera is a great educational resource for beginners and those who are new to the world of social media marketing.

This course by Northwestern University teaches you the social strategies you need to expand your reach and grow your followers. It touches upon social listening and lead nurturing, which most other courses don’t touch upon.

This is important because lead nurturing is often associated with email marketing, but it can also be done (and should be done) over social media.

You’ll learn:

• What social media is.
• Why you need to create a social listening strategy.
• How to implement nurturing strategies in your social media marketing.

Recommended for:

Because of its focus on lead nurturing and its foundational modules, I recommend this course for non-marketing professionals and early-stage founders who are interested in starting a social media strategy to grow their customer base.

3. Social Media Marketing Course by Acadium

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Creator: Acadium

Platform: Acadium

Price: Free

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Get a full understanding of social media marketing while developing real-world experience in an apprenticeship.

Acadium is an apprenticeship and mentorship program — there are a number of lessons within the social media marketing course that you can take before, after, or during your apprenticeship.

The courses offered cover an array of social media marketing topics, including how to set up profiles on your chosen platforms and how to save time as you scale your social media efforts.

You’ll learn:

• How to get started with the most popular social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and Instagram.
• How to publish posts.
• How to stand out from your competitors.

Recommended for:

I recommend this course for true beginners who not only need a foundation of social media marketing in general, but also mentorship from Acadium’s group of mentors. Because it offers highly basic knowledge, I don’t recommend it for current marketers or social media managers.

4. Social Media Marketing Foundations by Brian Honigman

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Creator: Brian Honigman

Platform: LinkedIn Learning

Price: Free

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Learn the foundations of social media marketing, with a focus on audience targeting and business-to-customer interaction.

This foundational course by Brian Honigman, a marketing consultant, offers similar content to the other beginner-level courses on this list, with a special focus on interacting with customers through your business’s preferred social networks.

It also includes instruction on using social media for sales and experimenting with your techniques.

You’ll learn:

• What social media marketing is.
• How to use social media for customer interactions.
• How to attribute metrics to business results.

Recommended for:

I recommend this course for marketing professionals, salespeople, and service professionals who want to take a customer-centric approach to your company’s social media strategy.

5. Social Media Marketing by The Open University

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Creator: The Open University

Platform: The Open University

Price: ​​£200.00 (approximately $250)

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Learn to create engaging content for social media that will help your brand achieve its marketing goals.

This is a paid course that allows you to learn at your own pace while still interacting with co-learners.

The first module covers big-picture topics like user journey mapping and misleading data, which is a unique focus for a beginner course.

One of the points of this online course is “What differentiates great social media?”

The passion and expertise really shine through to me in this course.

You’ll learn:

• How to map the user journey.
• Drawbacks and risks to different social media platforms.
• What separates great social media content from just good content.

Recommended for:

Given how much material this course covers, social media managers or new social media team members could really benefit from this training.

6. Social Media Marketing by Great Learning

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Creator: Great Learning

Platform: Great Learning

Price: Free

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Explore the potential that community and brand advocates have in your social strategy.

Starting with the basics, this course quickly ramps up to discuss the more complicated side of social media, such as storytelling, cross-channel campaigns, and leveraging chatbots.

I love that this course also touches on community management and working with brand advocates to elevate your social media presence.

You’ll learn:

• Planning and content publishing.
• Basics of advertising and campaign monitoring.
• Fundamentals of fostering community.

Recommended for:

With 1.5 hours of training, I think this is a great beginner course for anyone who needs to dip their feet in the social media world but isn’t immediately developing and executing their own strategy.

7. Social Media Marketing in Practice Specialization by the Digital Marketing Institute Creator: Digital Marketing Institute

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Creator: Digital Marketing Institute

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Understand what content stands out on social and how to get your viewers to engage.

The first half of this social media training focuses on the fundamentals and developing a content strategy. Then, the course dives into individual platforms. It covers Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

With an emphasis on breaking through the noise, storytelling, and building relationships with viewers, this course helps viewers craft social media posts that further their overall marketing plan.

You’ll learn:

• How user behavior is changing, and how marketers can adapt to meet consumers where they are.
• Specific opportunities and challenges of individual platforms.
• How to use the buyer’s journey to create content that influences viewers.

Recommended for:

Budding digital marketers who want platform deep-dives before committing to a specific social channel.

Social Media Management Training For Mid-Career Professionals

I’ve done social media for local government offices, nation-wide organizations like the American Red Cross, and countless clients.

One thing I’m sure of? Platforms will never stop changing, and I’ll never be done learning and improving my skills. Social media training is meant for professionals at all levels, not just newbies.

Especially since the job of an entire social media team is often given to one person in under-staffed organizations. Digital marketers need to regularly upskill just to keep up.

With these resources, you can do so from home and often for free. Let’s dive into these resources.

8. PPC University by WordStream

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Creator: WordStream

Platform: WordStream

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Learn about social ads on the major platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and LinkedIn.

WordStream offers the necessary educational resources to develop a strong understanding of social media advertisements, including platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

I like how there’s also information about why and how to advertise on social media, as well as education about best practices while advertising across these platforms.

Lastly, you’ll learn about social media ad metrics and social shopping — this way, you can effectively measure your success as well as reach your audience when and where they’re ready to make a purchase.

You’ll learn:

• How to get started with pay-per-click marketing across a wide variety of platforms, including social media.
• How to create a social ad strategy for your preferred platform(s).
• Why you should invest in social media ads.
• How to measure your success with ad metrics.

Recommended for:

I recommend this course for social media marketing managers who are interested in launching a paid ads strategy on social media.

I think it’s also a great fit for you if you prefer to learn at your own pace by reading written guides (as opposed to watching videos).

9. Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate by Google

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Creator: Google Career Certificates

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Learn how to go from having no digital marketing presence to building a loyal customer base online.

This course may be labeled “beginner” on Coursera, but I’ve listed it in the intermediate category thanks to its depth and breadth.

With more than 150 hours of training materials, Google’s training process takes students from zero experience to generating leads, analyzing data, making sales, and fostering customer loyalty online.

For context: If you spend ten hours a week working through this training, it will take you more than six months to complete. Successful students will get a comprehensive understanding of developing a successful social media strategy.

You’ll learn:

• How to create engaging content that turns “likes” into leads.
• What social analytics to use to build a loyal customer base.
• How to build long-lasting relationships with viewers.

Recommended for:

This social media training goes way beyond social media alone. I think it’s ideal for anyone who’s responsible for being a one-person marketing team.

10. Advanced Content and Social Tactics to Optimize SEO by the University of California, Davis

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Creator: University of California, Davis

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Learn about the more complex side of social media marketing, like influencer marketing and advanced content strategies.

Influencers live on social media, but engaging with them isn’t a beginner’s initiative. If you’re ready to take the plunge, this course teaches you how to build successful relationships with influencers.

Additionally, it teaches more advanced content strategies that help further your SEO efforts and improve website traffic. Along with video training, I like that this course also comes with discussion prompts and assignments to help students understand the material. For me, I only fully learn a new concept by doing it, not just hearing about it.

You’ll learn:

• What potential social media has for driving website traffic.
• How influencers can bolster a company’s online visibility in conjunction with other social initiatives.
• Understand your target audience on a deeper level.

Recommended for:

Marketers who are ready to work with influencers and grow website traffic.

11. Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content by the University of Pennsylvania

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Creator: University of Pennsylvania

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Understand viral content and how you can leverage predictable patterns in your own social strategy.

“Why did THAT post go so viral?!” It’s a thought every digital marketer has had, including myself. Now we can finally get some answers in this course by the University of Pennsylvania.

The course description shares that word-of-mouth information is 10x as effective as typical advertising, and course Module 3 explains how marketers can gain influence to improve brand visibility.

You’’ll learn:

• The psychology behind social networks and how they unfold on social media.
• What all viral ideas have in common.
• The power of word of mouth, and how to harness this in your social media strategy.

Recommended for:

Brands who have their target audience, offer, and funnel figured out, and are ready for the (LOTS of) eyeballs.

Social Media Marketing Training For Entrepreneurs

In the age of personal branding, we’re all marketers.

Entrepreneurs take this on in a formal capacity when they’re in charge of their own business strategy.

Whether you’re targeting one specific social media platform or you want to mobilize all of your social media accounts to help spread your message, these courses will help.

12. Online Advertising & Social Media by the University of Maryland

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Creator: University of Maryland

Platform: edX

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Learn about online advertising, sentiment analysis, and social network analysis.

On edX, you can pick classes that suit your interests and save classes to refer to later. There are a variety of business topics you can take classes on.

This course from the University of Maryland focuses on online advertising, and specifically on social media advertising. Plus, it includes instruction on data analysis so that you can make informed decisions when refining your social strategy over time.

You’ll learn:

• Which platforms you can advertise on.
• How to measure the success of your campaigns.
• How to analyze your chosen social media networks.
• How to delve into Big Data for your social efforts.

Recommended for:

I recommend this course for social media marketers who’d like to launch an advertising strategy. In addition, I recommend it for new social media analysts who need a strong foundation in social data analysis.

13. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, Social Media, and E-Commerce by The Wharton School

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Creator: The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Platform: edX

Price: $585

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Marketing course designed for business professionals.

Wharton’s course is considered an intermediate dive into the intersection of digital marketing, social media marketing, and ecommerce. It’s a self-paced, six-week class that requires three hours of your time each week.

This course is structured specifically for marketing professionals, small business owners, and consumers who want to know social media techniques. You’ll learn how to produce marketing campaigns that are effective for your business.

Note: This course is offered in live cohorts. You’ll need to wait for enrollment to open.

You’ll learn:

• How to use demographics and behaviors to create a digital strategy.
• How to interact with customers and potential buyers across multiple channels.
• How to leverage tools and tactics to power-up your digital marketing.
• How to delve into new media platforms, including social media.

Recommended for:

While this is a foundational course, I recommend it for experienced business professionals who’d like to expand their skill set to include marketing skills and tactics.

14. The Strategy of Content Marketing by University of California, Davis

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Creator: University of California, Davis

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

One-Sentence Summary: Learn about the power of integrating your content marketing and social media marketing strategies.

Social media marketing is a type of content marketing, and this course can help you weave both into a more comprehensive strategy.

In this online class offered by the University of California, Davis, you’ll learn how to create a content marketing strategy and develop an understanding of the ecosystem surrounding that strategy.

Ample time will also be spent working on strategic writing and framing.

You will review the different types of content marketing, along with how they’re integral to social media marketing. There are five weeks worth of material paired with videos, exercises, readings, and quizzes.

You’ll learn:

• What the content marketing ecosystem is.
• How to use the “7A Framework” to power-up your content.
• How to tailor your content to each phase of the buyer’s journey.

Recommended for:

I recommend this course for social media marketers who’d like to approach social media marketing with a content-centric perspective.

15. Social Media Marketing Masterclass by Mark Timberlake and Philomena Timberlake

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Creator: Mark Timberlake and Philomena Timberlake

Platform: Udemy

Price: $129.99 one-time fee or $16.58/mo

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Learn how to build a social media marketing strategy and schedule for your unique business.

Rather than a complete level one course in social media, I love that this offering is a masterclass on the subject, uniquely centered around ethical digital marketing techniques.

You’ll learn how to set up a powerful marketing strategy and a schedule that aligns with accomplishing business goals.

You’ll also dive into how social media marketing integrates with your business, email marketing, and building an online community. This course can be completed in 20 hours, and gives you a certificate of completion at its end.

You’ll learn:

• How to create actionable content on your website and social media.
• How to leverage social media communities to increase brand awareness.
• Which social media platforms you can use to market your business.
• How to use your phone for social media photography.

Recommended for:

This masterclass doesn’t cover just social media marketing, but SEO and blogging. For that reason, I recommend it for new marketers who’d like to expand their skill set as they dive into their new role.

16. Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate by Meta

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Creator: Meta (Facebook)

Platform: Coursera

Price: Free

Skill Level: Beginner

One-Sentence Summary: Learn about social media marketing and advertising techniques from Meta.

Meta’s social media marketing certificate includes the essentials you need to jumpstart your social media marketing knowledge, with added coursework on advertising.

It also offers a Meta-centric approach, so if you know you’d like to advertise on Facebook and Instagram, this is the right course for you.

You’ll learn:

• How to create a social media management strategy.
• How to begin social media advertising on Meta’s platforms.
• How to measure the results from your efforts.

Recommended for:

I recommend this course for professionals who want to get foundational knowledge in social media marketing and who know they’ll be investing into Meta’s social media platforms.

Find Your Ideal Social Media Marketing Course

Which social media training course appeals to you the most? It’s amazing to me how many free courses are at our fingertips (with no graded assignments or fear of not knowing the answer).

The biggest thing I’ve learned in my career is that investing in my education and learning new skills will always always pay off. So if you’re wanting to learn more about up-to-date strategies that help you stand out from other social media marketers and help you propel your career, I recommend doing the same.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.